Hope For The Surveillance State Repeal Act?

Congressional support is growing for a bill that would roll back privacy regulations to what they were before 9/11.

H.R.2818, introduced this summer by Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J., has gained five cosponsors this month, all Democrats. Also known as the Surveillance State
Repeal Act, the bill would repeal the USA Patriot Act of 2001 and the FISA Amendments Act of 2008. Both laws have received harsh criticism since
classified information leaked by Edward Snowden revealed widespread electronic surveillance by the National Security Agency and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation.

“Instead of using these powers to zero in on the tiny number of real terrorist threats we face, the executive branch turned these surveillance
powers against the American people as a whole,” Holt said in a July statement. “My legislation would put a stop to that right now.”

Time to talk to your reps again and get some support for this going. We Americans desperately need our privacy back. I suppose though we may never
trust that our privacy will be restored even if they say it is... all the same, let's get behind this.

I hate to be cynical, but can anyone see the government giving up this power they have spent over a trillion dollars developing the last decade plus?

I cant, there's too much money involved now, too much spent on infrastructure, lobbying and hundreds of thousands of jobs "created" because of this
boondoggle. The NSA, Homeland Security, Fema,TSA, and all the way down to local police departments buying drones and armored vehicles..its tentacles
reach into about everything, everywhere. No, they will never give this up. If any legislation is passed it will be riddled with loopholes and
questionable wording as to be, like most things congress passes, not worth the paper its written on.

Besides most Americans decided after 9/11 they preferred safety over freedom, and I don't think anything has changed or will change anytime soon.

The fact is that the average man's love of liberty is nine-tenths imaginary, exactly like his love of sense, justice and truth. He is not
actually happy when free; he is uncomfortable, a bit alarmed, and intolerably lonely. Liberty is not a thing for the great masses of men. It is the
exclusive possession of a small and disreputable minority, like knowledge, courage and honor. It takes a special sort of man to understand and enjoy
liberty — and he is usually an outlaw in democratic societies. - HL Mencken

I'm glad you see it that way. And this is certainly not a hey look Dems are good guys again. Just an important bill we should all support and demand
our reps do the same.

of course it is. it won't happen, period. 'but we've tried, we are the good ones!'

how can you be so naive?

the only situation when i can see this coming, is when martial law would be planned soon - then they can pass any bills that will make the society
happy, then throw it all away together with the constitution. it would make sense to do whatever is possible to rise their ratings before implementing
martial law, to try to minimize the damage. one way or another, it's just a smoke screen.

You misunderstood my statement. I meant that it wasn't me saying hey look dems are good guys again. I don't trust the motivation of 99.99% of
politicians but regardless of pandering this is a piece of legislation we should all be getting behind.

If it's any consolation, the more Government grows the less likely it is to be effectual at anything it does. History is always a good reminder of
how these type of processes play out-

During the final days of the Soviet Union, the KGB had more agents in the city of Leningrad alone than Nazi Germany had Gestapo in the whole of
Germany and conquered territories at any time. I remember those days in the late 80s, there was a growing fear that the Soviets were about to unleash
a crackdown unlike anything seen since the time of Stalin, all the tools were in place and the security apparatus was seemingly all powerful, they
only had to ACT. Yet they did nothing, Glasnost and Perestroika had accomplished, unwittingly, what decades of repression, murder, gulags could not-
they had pulled back the curtain and revealed the whole rotten structure to everyone and the loss of legitimacy, the loss of purpose infected
everything. No one believed anymore, so when the time came to act the Soviet empire imploded with barely a whimper.

So what are we ordinary folks to do here in America? I say nothing, sit back and watch as the beast continues to grow, as it struggles to control
everything, and fails miserably as it is almost certain to do. It will destroy itself through its on exertions. I know that's not going to be a
popular sentiment, but what's that old maxim? Never interrupt your enemy when he is in the process of making a mistake?

Perhaps 20 years from now, the internet will be recognized as our version of Glasnost.

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